


stepping out, stepping up

by lochTenderness (theseourbodies), theseourbodies



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Year Akaashi Keiji, Gen, Konoha Akinori POV, Misunderstandings, Pre-Canon, Second Year Konoha Akinori, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theseourbodies/pseuds/lochTenderness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/theseourbodies/pseuds/theseourbodies
Summary: Konoha helps the team get closer after a misunderstanding with their new first-year setter
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Fukuroudani Volleyball Club, Akaashi Keiji & Konoha Akinori
Kudos: 10
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	stepping out, stepping up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lollipop_Panda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lollipop_Panda/gifts).



> Hello again, Lollipop_Panda!
> 
> I wanted to give you a little treat because I know you love Konoha, but I wasn't comfy enough writing him to write him/a pairing with him into your main gift. I hope you like this little pre-canon exploration of Konoha, Akaashi, and the rest of the team <3
> 
> Best, your mystery writer :)

Akinori catches Akaashi making a very polite beeline for him in the hallway between classes and his heart sinks. 

“If Konoha-san has a moment, I would like to speak with him,” says Akaashi. 

‘Konoha-san’ himself feels a little like crying dramatically. _No take backs_ , Akinori wants to say. _Absolutely none!_ He hadn’t realized how poorly suited he was to a setter position until he had actually gone through a whole practice just watching Akaashi play. It was good to feel exhausted after a hard practice, but he hadn’t realized how much the position had been exhausting his _brain,_ and not just his body. Running regular drills again had been a revelation, and he didn’t want to have to go back to playing setter; not even for Bokuto. But it's not as if he doesn't understand that feeling of being overwhelmed that Akaashi must be feeling right now—and he has the benefit of both knowing Bokuto and knowing that he likes Bokuto as a person, if not as a player. So, he just follows Akaashi out into the hallway and holds up a hand before Akaashi can say anything. 

“It’s ok, Akaashi, I know what you're going to say. I’ll go back to setting regularly; we can split court time.” He doesn’t want it to feel like a punishment. It was probably hard enough for a boy like Akaashi to pluck up the nerve to admit he couldn’t handle Bokuto. 

Akaashi blinks at him. He shifts—and wow, Akinori hadn’t realized his spine could get any straighter but Akaashi had always been one to surprise him. 

“If Konoha-san thinks that’s best,” Akaashi answers in his most terrifying, flat robot voice. Akinori squints at him, aware suddenly that Akaashi is not, in fact, showing relief in any way. 

“Er,” says Akinori. 

“It is not my place to argue,” assures Akaashi. He’s beginning to look vaguely wild around the eyes. 

“Well,” Akinori hedges, starting to feel deeply confused. 

“I’ll be on my way then.” 

Akaashi is so stiff walking away that it looks like one firm breath might knock him over. The student body in the hallway parts around him; he sees more than one person watch him go out of the corner of their eyes nervously. 

He has time to think, Well, that was weird, before there’s a flutter of activity from back down the hall. Akaashi is stomping back towards him, his mouth a firm slash. 

“Actually, I will be arguing my case,” he says, voice still eerily calm when he gets close enough to Akinori. Akinori just nods dumbly, wide eyed. 

“Whatever I’ve done that has hurt Konoha-san’s confidence in me, I will do my best to correct it. I recognize that a first year starting setter might not be possible to accommodate, but I do believe that I have been working well with Bokuto-san and the rest of the team. Has he—have they indicated otherwise?” 

Akinori can’t say he’s ever really seen Akaashi look uncertain about anything in the half a year he’s known the first year. Even now, he’s not entirely certain that that’s what Akaashi is; it might be more correct to say that Akaashi looks _hurt,_ which is a lot to handle. 

“No, no, no one’s said anything!” Akinori assures him frantically, still deeply confused. Across the hallway, he sees Komi slip out of his own hallway and jerks his head at him as subtly as he can. “I just—I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding. Can we do this out of the hallway, at least?” 

“Do what?” Komi asks, bright eyed and interested; Akaashi nods at him politely, but it doesn’t make him look less like he’s going to cry. 

“Just have a talk,” Akinori says, and hustles them all sideways into the nearest classroom—Washio’s, thankfully, and not Bokuto and Sarukui’s. Washio raises his eyebrows at them from over his lunch, but when they make their way over, he just carefully shifts his food and drags a chair over for Akaashi to drop into. 

“Alright?” Washio asks, to all of them but specifically to Akaashi, who has not improved with the change of location. 

“Just a little mix-up, I think,” Akinori grunts, dropping into another chair and scooting over until he’s almost bumping knees with their setter. “Hey Akaashi-kun? I think I made a mistake, so why don’t you tell me what you wanted to ask?” 

He wonders if he should tell the other guys to back up, or if he should back up himself, but it feels—safe, to be in a tight little cluster. He keeps an eye on Akaashi, just in case. 

“I… wanted to ask if there were any game time habits you had noticed while setting for Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. Whatever he had been feeling, he has control of himself again—Akinori feels a little bad for his own relief at the thought. “Though I’ve been practicing with the team as the setter, I have no experience with in-game scenarios. I like to be prepared.” As if he’s just noticing all their eyes on him, Akaashi glances around quickly and drops his gaze to where his fingers are laced carefully together in his lap. Akinori’s noticed that he tends to fidget with his fingers when he’s nervous; he’s abruptly sorry that he was a source of those nerves, even accidentally. 

“Oh,” Akinori says awkwardly. “Of course, I definitely have some things I’ve noticed since the start of the season. You’ll probably notice more as you play, of course, but sure.” 

“I’ve got some things, too!” Komi adds with a grin. “And Yuki probably has a whole book of things about all of us, not just Bokuto.” 

“That’s… diligent,” Akaashi says, perking up with interest— _nerd_ , Akinori thinks fondly. His face has relaxed, though he hasn’t let his hands go lax. Sounding vaguely embarrassed, he asks: “Who is Yukie?” 

“Shirofuku Yukie,”Akinori says, swallowing his grin. It’s strange to think about serious, diligent Akaashi-kun as just another volleyball idiot, but well, you can never judge a book by its cover really. “She’s the second year manager this year.” 

“Ah, Shirofuku-san, yes.” 

“You rang?” 

All four of them jump, even Washio. 

“Yukieeee, please!” Komi huffs, collapsing back against the windowsill. She just grins lazily at him. 

“Hey, you were the one who summoned me.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you and those bat ears,” Akinori mutters, pleased when it makes Washio chuckle. 

“ _Anyway_ ,” Yukie says, still grinning. She leans against the back of Akinori’s chair, “What do you need, Akaashi-kun?” 

“Konoha-san said that you had been making notes about Bokuto-san, Sarukui-san, and himself as hitters,” Akaashi starts. Whatever tension he had been holding on to, this new purpose has eased it, Akinori sees. It makes his own tense shoulders relax, too, to his surprise—more proof that Akaashi is in the exact position on the team he needs to be in, Akinori thinks. The whole team seems to be as in tune with him as they are with their newly minted ace; Akinori certainly is. 

“Hm? Well yeah, I have but it’s not much more than standard stats. Just some little observations on strengths and weaknesses.” 

“May I see them?” 

Akinori glances back at Yukie, asking the same question silently. Yukie’s notebooks were half sacred; she didn’t let anyone on the team see them, usually. Still, she only hesitates for a second before nodding. 

“If it’s Akaashi-kun asking, absolutely.” 

“That seems unfair,” Komi says, not like he cares over much. The grinning atmosphere is infectious as Akaashi loses more and more of his anxious air. 

“It absolutely is. You know I’ve always been weak for a cute junior,” Yukie says, tipping her nose up and smirking. 

They stay huddled around Akaashi for a while, swapping what they know—about Bokuto, about each other. By the time the warning bell rings, Akaashi is relaxed in his chair, listening carefully to all of them. He makes arrangements to pick up Yukie’s notebooks at practice and bows himself out of the room politely, his normal, stoic expression completely restored. 

Akinori shares a grin with Komi, secretly relieved that they haven’t accidentally let their baby ace run off the best setter the team has had in years, most likely. He spends the rest of the day grinning at nothing, just happy for the new season to start. 


End file.
